foul en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /faʊl/
- (US) audio
- /ˈfaʊ.əl/
- foul
- fou'əl
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English ffoul, foul, foull, fowel, fowle, fuyle, voul, vul, from Old English fūl (“foul, dirty, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten, stinking, guilty”), from Proto-West Germanic *fūl, from Proto-Germanic *fūlaz (“foul, rotten”), from Proto-Indo-European *puH- (“foul, rotten”). Cognates Cognate with Central Franconian fuul (“putrid, rotten; lazy, workshy”), Cimbrian baul, vaul (“putrid, rotten”), Dutch vuil (“dirty, foul; lewd, obscene; dishonorable; illegal”), German faul (“foul, putrid, rotten; lazy”), Yiddish פֿױל (foyl, “putrid; lazy”), Danish ful (“nasty, ugly”), Icelandic fúll (“foul, rotten, sullen”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk ful (“clever, sly”), and Swedish ful (“ugly; bad, dirty”), Gothic 𐍆𐌿𐌻𐍃 (fuls, “fetid, foul, putrid”), and through Indo-European, with Latin puter (“decaying, rotten; friable, crumbling”), Greek πύο (pýo), πύον (pýon, “pus”), Albanian fëlliq (“to make dirty, sully”), Latvian pūt (“to rot”), Lithuanian pūti (“to rot”), Armenian փուտ (pʻut, “rottenness”), Persian پوده (pude, “rubbed, worn; foul, rotten; empty, hollow”), Sanskrit पूयति (pūyati, “to become foul; to stink”). More at putrid. Ancient Greek φαῦλος (phaûlos, “bad”) is a false cognate inasmuch as it is not from the same etymon, instead being cognate to few.
Meanings
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Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.
A ship's bottom is foul when overgrown with barnacles
His foul hands got dirt all over the kitchen.
This cloth is too foul to use as a duster.
Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.
2013 June 29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 29:It was, however, most interesting work, and the moulders themselves were a decent crowd, never tired of making jokes about themselves such as the hoary one that moulders did not live long, which however ran counter to the other one that no germs could live in a foundry—the atmosphere was too foul.
1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 342:The air was so foul nobody could breathe.
A well is foul with polluted water.
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(of words or a way of speaking) Obscene, vulgar or abusive.
The rascal spewed forth a series of foul words.
His foul language causes many people to believe he is uneducated.
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Detestable, unpleasant, loathsome.
Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:[…]Hast thou forgot / The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy / Was grown into a hoop? Hast thou forgot her?
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:Cultural norms and social rules regulate whether someone can be among others or will be isolated, whether the sick will be considered foul or acceptable, and whether they are to be pitied or censured.
1982 March 18, Eric J. Cassel[l], “The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine”, in The New England Journal of Medicine, volume 306, number 11, →DOI, page 642:He has a foul set of friends.
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Disgusting, repulsive; causing disgust.
There was a foul smell coming from the toilet.
This foul food is making me retch.
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(obsolete) Ugly; homely; poor.
Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares.
c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
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Unpleasant, stormy or rainy. (of the weather)
So foul a sky clears not without a storm.
c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:Some foul weather is brewing.
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Dishonest or not conforming to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.
Foul play is not suspected.
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Entangled and therefore restricting free movement, not clear.
We've got a foul anchor.
A rope could get foul while it is being paid out.
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(with "of") Positioned on, in, or near enough to (a specified area) so as to obstruct it.
Ten of the freight train's wagons had derailed, two of them foul of the Down Fast. At 2308, the TPO struck one of them, causing the locomotive (86239) to jack-knife and turn so that it was almost touching the end wall of a house in The Russetts, a new-build row that sat close to the line.
2026 March 18, Greg Morse, “1996 crash driving freight reforms”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 50:The bus had stopped just foul of the north track at the Erindale Station Road public railway crossing […] With the bus stationary, but still foul of the north track, the train struck one of its front mirrors.
2015, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Railway Investigation Report R13T0192
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Outside of the base lines; in foul territory.
Jones hit foul ball after foul ball.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| foule | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| foulest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| fouler | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
foul feeder · in one foul swoop · foul shot · foul pole · foul tick · foul-mouthed · foulmouth · foul language · foul-tongued · foul bill of health · befoul · unfoul · make foul water · by fair means or foul · foulness · foul marten · foulbrood · foulmouthed · foul line · foul-smelling · foul wind · foul play · foulish · antifoul · nonfouling · foul tip · nonfoul · fall foul · foul berth · foul trouble · foully · foul-tempered · afoul · cry foul · biofouling · foul anchor · foul-spoken
Synonyms
frightful · frightful (hateful, detestable) · odious (hateful, detestable) · rank · wretched (hateful, detestable) · shameful (hateful, detestable)
Translations (128)
de schändlich (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · de widerlich (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · gl porco (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · es hediondo (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de arm (ugly; homely; poor) · enm foul (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · ota مردار (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de häßlich (ugly; homely; poor) · ru отврати́тельный (ugly; homely; poor) · fi epäpuhdas (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · ru непотре́бный (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de unanständig (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · fi likainen (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · enm foul (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de verhakt (having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement) · de schlecht (not favorable; unpropitious) · de ungünstig (not favorable; unpropitious) · ru нече́стный (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · bg нечестен (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · de einfach (ugly; homely; poor) · es grosero (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · fi ruma (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de eklig (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · es perro (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · de abstoßend (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · es jediondo (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de gefangen (having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement) · ota پیس (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · bg непристоен (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de gemein (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · bg оплетен (having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement) · fr souillé (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · ru неприли́чный (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · bg противен (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · cmn 污濁 /污浊 (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de verdorben (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · pt detestável (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · fi siivoton (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · fi törkeä (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de stinkend (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de widerwärtig (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · ru га́дкий (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · pdt ful (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · cmn 污穢 /污秽 (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · fi törkyinen (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · bg неприличен (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de garstig (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · ru отврати́тельный (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · es obsceno (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de schlecht (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · ru скве́рный (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · fi kurja (ugly; homely; poor) · fr faute (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · enm foul (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de abscheulich (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · es inmundo (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de garstig (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · fi iljettävä (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de faulig (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · it nauseante (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · es maloliente (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · enm foul (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · ru непристо́йный (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · fi saastainen (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · bg мръсен (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · es repugnante (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · got 𐍆𐌿𐌻𐍃 (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de scheußlich (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · es apestoso (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de unehrlich (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · de geringwertig (ugly; homely; poor) · pdt ful (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de zotig (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · gd caca (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de stinkend (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · fi sääntöjen vastainen (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · fr hors-jeu (outside of the base lines) · de schmutzig (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de unfair (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · ru га́дкий (not favorable; unpropitious) · it ripugnante (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · fi inhottava (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de gewöhnlich (ugly; homely; poor) · de verfangen (having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement) · ru га́дкий (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · fi laiton (outside of the base lines) · la foedus (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · fi häijy (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · fi surkea (ugly; homely; poor) · es fétido (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de unaufrichtig (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · de schlecht (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · de überriechend (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · gl sucio (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · fi häpeällinen (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · de vulgär ausdrückend (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · bg неблагоприятен (not favorable; unpropitious) · ru поха́бный (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · gd caca (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de widerlich (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · ru паску́дный (not favorable; unpropitious) · fi juuttunut (having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement) · ru вульга́рный (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · ru гря́зный (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de verklemmt (having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement) · bg отвратителен (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · bg отвратителен (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · ru отврати́тельный (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · de faul (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · la foedus (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · es indecente (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · de obszön (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · ru скве́рный (not favorable; unpropitious) · fr indécent (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · enm foul (ugly; homely; poor) · ru безобра́зный (ugly; homely; poor) · it disgustoso (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · fi kurja (not favorable; unpropitious) · fi vastenmielinen (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de unflätig (scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive) · fi väärä (not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.) · la foedus (hateful; detestable; shameful; wretched) · de festhängend (having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement) · de unrein (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · fr répugnant (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · de ekelhaft (repulsive; disgusting; repugnant) · bg замърсен (covered with, or containing, extraneous matter) · de schlicht (ugly; homely; poor)